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Perhaps you'll think I'm naïve, but I still believe that when you have a debate, it's a good idea to have some facts readily to hand. So here are some facts that you might find useful next time you're thinking about that "swarm" (David Cameron's word, not mine) of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from north Africa. Why not keep them handy (the facts, not the migrants) on your smartphone, or print them out and shove them in a pocket.

These latest figures only serve to reinforce the need for a radical rethink about our second chamber, which is getting bigger and more expensive by the day. Surely it can't be right that when politicians are talking about reducing the cost of politics, they're set to stuff the upper chamber with yet more party appointees?

Today marks a key point in the fight against slavery in the UK. With the Modern Slavery Act coming into force, law enforcement will have greater powers to target and prosecute traffickers and additional protection will be provided to the victims of this brutal crime.

The crisis in Calais isn't going away. And while it may feel like a local problem that will eventually slip out of the news, the truth is it is part of a wider international humanitarian challenge that Europe is failing to grasp. Ramping up the rhetoric towards the rest of the world, demonising people or turning Britain inwards - as David Cameron seems to want to do - won't solve the problem. Instead Britain needs to work with other countries to set out a serious, practical long term plan.

The NGOs who signed the letter to the Prime Minister do not want to go to war with the Government. We welcome the Government's good intentions, not least its aspiration that ours should be "the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than that in which we found it". But things are going rapidly in the wrong direction.

What do the next five years hold for the NHS? The pre-election jamboree is quickly evaporating. The promise of billions more in funding now feels like a distant sound-bite. The Daily Telegraph recently set the tone with a front page headline in which Jeremy Hunt declared that the NHS now has enough money and will have to make do. However, all the talk on funding in the election debates completely missed the point.

It's been 64 years since the Refugee Convention was adopted, and although it's been modified slightly, its underlying principles have proved life saving. Fast forward to 2015. Once again, people around the world are being forced to flee tyranny and conflict on an unprecedented scale.

Call it Lefty, Marxist, Socialist or simply Old Labour - Jeremy Corbyn is one of a brave few who are prepared to stand up for those without a voice, who would otherwise be silenced by the Tory dictatorship.

It is two years since the Prime Minister stood up in July 2013 and launched the Disability Confident campaign. While we still have much more to do, few could have imagined the success it would achieve in such a short space of time.

This complexity doesn't brook simple solutions. It also requires greater honesty and self-awareness from western politicians, like David Cameron and Manuel Valls, of the impact of past and present policy on Muslims - both at home and abroad.

What we've seen over the past few months adds up to nothing less than a full frontal attack on the renewable energy sector. It will have ramifications beyond the UK, if the UK does not have any real credible domestic action to tackle climate change, the government will lose any influence over others at the crucial climate talks in Paris at the end of the year.

Both the Anglican and Catholic Churches have long been able to use publicly funded schools to inculcate children into their religious traditions. Their reluctance to let go of that privilege is understandable. But for the sake of young people's future, people of all faiths should accept that faith-based education isn't in Britain's best interest.

Despite Cameron's assertions otherwise, there is nothing in the new strategy to suggest that the new approach to tackling Islamist extremism will be any less heavy-handed or discriminate, further fuelling suspicion and mistrust, while making all Muslims without differentiation feel increasingly scrutinised and pressured.

About David Cameron

David Cameron took office in 2010 after forming a coalition government with Nick Clegg. He has since seen the popularity of his party fall as well as internal rebellions against the alliance with the Lib Dems.